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Music Issue!

AuthorMessage
Captain
Feb 11, 2010
644
Okay, I've posted a thread on here that got no replies, and I sent this to support with replies, but nothing has been changed. The music in Marleybone, Aquila, and the Traveling Medicine Show is out of tune. Listening to the ringtone and in-game sound comparison, you can tell it's not the same. I want this to be fixed IMMEDIATELY. The out of tune music in these areas sounds terrible, honestly, as one with a good ear in the music area. It's because the music I think twice about farming for Rook's outfit or the Minotaur Axe. It's because of the music I loathe these areas. Please KI, fix this immediately as soon as you read this! It's really irritating having to listen to flat music in the game when it can be so much better. Please!

Ensign
May 12, 2011
42
its not required to listen to the music in the game, if your tired of hearing "flat music" listen to your own

Captain
Feb 11, 2010
644
Jonathan Nightinga... on Feb 24, 2016 wrote:
its not required to listen to the music in the game, if your tired of hearing "flat music" listen to your own
I know, but the music could be so much better to listen to if it weren't!

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
I have returned to Marleybone and I listened to the so-called "flat" music in the many instances ( traveling and battle ) and I believe that what you're hearing is meant to be a little off - dissonances are especially good to heighten a dramatic situation ( which is what is occurring in MB ). Not all music is meant to be pleasant and smooth.
If this is really irritating to you - mute it. As for me, I'm enjoying the dramatic flair that KI composers are using.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
CaptainBlackWolfBo... on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:
Okay, I've posted a thread on here that got no replies, and I sent this to support with replies, but nothing has been changed. The music in Marleybone, Aquila, and the Traveling Medicine Show is out of tune. Listening to the ringtone and in-game sound comparison, you can tell it's not the same. I want this to be fixed IMMEDIATELY. The out of tune music in these areas sounds terrible, honestly, as one with a good ear in the music area. It's because the music I think twice about farming for Rook's outfit or the Minotaur Axe. It's because of the music I loathe these areas. Please KI, fix this immediately as soon as you read this! It's really irritating having to listen to flat music in the game when it can be so much better. Please!
I know what you mean. They sound like they're straight from the UK, as heard before. It still sounds very weird, too. Sarah Steele noticed that, 'cause she complimented me that I had good ears from a while ago. True, & I still thank her for that.

Here's this. KingsIsle's sound team was very busy with plenty on their plate lately, they've forgotten to readjust the recorded music you mentioned to the proper tempo & pitch, & they lingered since launch & ongoing. Honestly, they would be properly retuned to play just like it should be from the US, & like those exemplary ringtone themes you mentioned.

Now, all those music themes they made through music composing programs are recorded, & from the sounds of it, some themes have been misadjusted before the game's launch. I think this also applies to the Monquista themes in Skull Island & in Monquista, too, even it's combat theme. Two original MooShu themes in this game, the Skyway & it's Skyway combat theme also sound out o' tune, too. I also hear that Valencia's current Combat Theme, along with the Monquista-esque theme heard in the Isle of Doom's Gold Mine, Ancient Ruins, & the Valley of the Gold Monkey has the same problem, too.

Clearly, many music themes' pitch & tempo issues, albeit their themes' names are not currently shown in the game, heard throughout P101's zones & worlds should be heard by El Kaboing. He's from KI's MMO Live Team's sound team.

El Kaboing, or Sarah Steele(if you're still around), if either of you are reading this, we really hope this gets your attention. We really like to hear all P101 themes' pitch & tempo played properly & normally, so we ask that the sound team at KI should readjust the themes' pitch & tempo so they will properly sound normal like they should be just as they were made to be when KI was composing them in development. We ask of you. Hope they get properly re-adjusted.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
anecorbie on Feb 24, 2016 wrote:
I have returned to Marleybone and I listened to the so-called "flat" music in the many instances ( traveling and battle ) and I believe that what you're hearing is meant to be a little off - dissonances are especially good to heighten a dramatic situation ( which is what is occurring in MB ). Not all music is meant to be pleasant and smooth.
If this is really irritating to you - mute it. As for me, I'm enjoying the dramatic flair that KI composers are using.
In Wizard101, all themes don't have the "flat" music heard in the game, & we've been very used to that.

You may not notice that, but, in every Puppet Show, all music themes' pitch & tempo have been heard & played properly in many scenes, so, it's certain KI made these themes while in development, but have accidentally misadjusted the themes' pitch & tempo before the game launched & updates were made & forgot to readjust them to their proper pitch & tempo. I listened very closely myself.

I really like how the game's music sounded from listening the ringtones, & they properly suit the dramatic situations. By comparing them with the themes that have the "flat" music while playing them simultaneously, I think the proper pitch & tempo is far more better sounding than the flat music, 'cause it's just plain weird sounding to me & plenty others.

Captain
Feb 11, 2010
644
Trimond297 on Feb 24, 2016 wrote:
I know what you mean. They sound like they're straight from the UK, as heard before. It still sounds very weird, too. Sarah Steele noticed that, 'cause she complimented me that I had good ears from a while ago. True, & I still thank her for that.

Here's this. KingsIsle's sound team was very busy with plenty on their plate lately, they've forgotten to readjust the recorded music you mentioned to the proper tempo & pitch, & they lingered since launch & ongoing. Honestly, they would be properly retuned to play just like it should be from the US, & like those exemplary ringtone themes you mentioned.

Now, all those music themes they made through music composing programs are recorded, & from the sounds of it, some themes have been misadjusted before the game's launch. I think this also applies to the Monquista themes in Skull Island & in Monquista, too, even it's combat theme. Two original MooShu themes in this game, the Skyway & it's Skyway combat theme also sound out o' tune, too. I also hear that Valencia's current Combat Theme, along with the Monquista-esque theme heard in the Isle of Doom's Gold Mine, Ancient Ruins, & the Valley of the Gold Monkey has the same problem, too.

Clearly, many music themes' pitch & tempo issues, albeit their themes' names are not currently shown in the game, heard throughout P101's zones & worlds should be heard by El Kaboing. He's from KI's MMO Live Team's sound team.

El Kaboing, or Sarah Steele(if you're still around), if either of you are reading this, we really hope this gets your attention. We really like to hear all P101 themes' pitch & tempo played properly & normally, so we ask that the sound team at KI should readjust the themes' pitch & tempo so they will properly sound normal like they should be just as they were made to be when KI was composing them in development. We ask of you. Hope they get properly re-adjusted.
Glad to see I'm not the only one noticing this.

Commodore
May 31, 2009
894
As a musician myself (I am a cellist), I have to say that this confused me quite a bit. Some of the chords are dissonant for a reason; it's musicality and adds feeling to the piece. I've never noticed anything blatantly flat in any of the themes, and I usually have the BGM going unless I'm in the mood for something with lyrics.

Even if the music was performed in Europe or digitally composed by a European composer, the instruments would still most likely be tuned to A440 and so would sound the same to an American listener:

"A440 is widely used as a concert pitch in theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.In continental Europe the frequency of A commonly varies between 440 Hz and 444 Hz. In the period instrument movement, a consensus has arisen around a modern baroque pitch of 415 Hz (A♭ of A440), baroque for some special church music (Chorton pitch) at 466 Hz (A♯ of A440), and classical pitch at 430 Hz." (Wikipedia)

Now, for the three zones you pointed out, you're hearing a difference in something meant for download and use, and something put into a game. Sure, the .mp3 ringtone has more richness and quality, but that doesn't mean that the in-game music is flat. I think the word you're looking for is "two-dimensional"; it doesn't have the same depth or layers as the download. That right there is why it sounds off.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
CaptainBlackWolfBo... on Feb 24, 2016 wrote:
Glad to see I'm not the only one noticing this.
Thanks. I noticed it since the game's beta & launch.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
MistyDragon13 on Feb 25, 2016 wrote:
As a musician myself (I am a cellist), I have to say that this confused me quite a bit. Some of the chords are dissonant for a reason; it's musicality and adds feeling to the piece. I've never noticed anything blatantly flat in any of the themes, and I usually have the BGM going unless I'm in the mood for something with lyrics.

Even if the music was performed in Europe or digitally composed by a European composer, the instruments would still most likely be tuned to A440 and so would sound the same to an American listener:

"A440 is widely used as a concert pitch in theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.In continental Europe the frequency of A commonly varies between 440 Hz and 444 Hz. In the period instrument movement, a consensus has arisen around a modern baroque pitch of 415 Hz (A♭ of A440), baroque for some special church music (Chorton pitch) at 466 Hz (A♯ of A440), and classical pitch at 430 Hz." (Wikipedia)

Now, for the three zones you pointed out, you're hearing a difference in something meant for download and use, and something put into a game. Sure, the .mp3 ringtone has more richness and quality, but that doesn't mean that the in-game music is flat. I think the word you're looking for is "two-dimensional"; it doesn't have the same depth or layers as the download. That right there is why it sounds off.
Thanks for the info, even if it all sounds complicated to some. I'm just not used to tunes that sounded like they were adjusted for the UK. We were asking KI to readjust the notable zones' themes' pitch & tempo to equally match the same richness and quality the ringtones have.

By comparison through listening to them, the ringtones sounded normal, like how those notable themes in the game should be, & the same ones that still have the UK sounding pitch & tempo. The Puppet Shows' music plays normal, too, so it's evidential these themes were meant to be played in their proper pitch & tempo in the game's zones.

To others, why not just have a new in-game option to switch the pitch & tempo to all themes in the game? Here's this, if you want them to sound like they're from the UK, there's the option to adjust that, & if you want them to sound normally, like how they should be, & are, in the US, there's also the other option to readjust them to that.

Shouldn't take long for KI to make that option to ease up concerns about some people noticing some music themes sounding off.

Commodore
May 31, 2009
894
Trimond297 on Feb 25, 2016 wrote:
Thanks for the info, even if it all sounds complicated to some. I'm just not used to tunes that sounded like they were adjusted for the UK. We were asking KI to readjust the notable zones' themes' pitch & tempo to equally match the same richness and quality the ringtones have.

By comparison through listening to them, the ringtones sounded normal, like how those notable themes in the game should be, & the same ones that still have the UK sounding pitch & tempo. The Puppet Shows' music plays normal, too, so it's evidential these themes were meant to be played in their proper pitch & tempo in the game's zones.

To others, why not just have a new in-game option to switch the pitch & tempo to all themes in the game? Here's this, if you want them to sound like they're from the UK, there's the option to adjust that, & if you want them to sound normally, like how they should be, & are, in the US, there's also the other option to readjust them to that.

Shouldn't take long for KI to make that option to ease up concerns about some people noticing some music themes sounding off.
I think you misunderstood my point about tuning. It's the same across the board, unless you're playing a classical concert or something particular; the music wouldn't be "adjusted for the UK" because it's the same tuning (A440).

"These themes were meant to be played in their proper pitch & tempo in the game's zones."

They are, the best I can tell. At the very least, there's nothing wrong with their tempo. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it with just text, but I'll give it a shot.

Music in all forms comes in layers. You have the bass underneath the tenor, alto, and soprano voices (much like a choir, but it applies to instruments as well), and added percussion. It all comes together to form this stacked, well, thing, like a cake. The music in game is like a single layer, frosted sheet cake. It's pretty and very well done, yes, but it's missing just a little something. The themes available for download on the site, on the other hand, are like a double-layered cake with frosting and sprinkles; you can feel all of the richness and tone within the piece. Whatever's in the game is missing some of the sparkle on the layers; I can't really pinpoint it, but it isn't a tuning or tempo problem because the group is very well together and tuned with each other.

I generally associate music with colors in my mind. I'll use the Marleybone theme 3 (Isle of Dogs) for this example. I hopped in game to have a listen, and collected a very two-dimensional, grainy grey color mixed with navy blue horizontal stripes. When I switched to the site to compare, I found that the clearer sound offered allowed for more shades of blue and grey, as well as a mix of gold within this color scheme that does indeed reflect the area that the music plays in.

I hope that made some sense.

I don't think that KI should invest any time in something that isn't really a priority; shouldn't they be focusing on whatever updates might be coming?

First Mate
Sep 13, 2010
402
CaptainBlackWolfBo... on Feb 19, 2016 wrote:
Okay, I've posted a thread on here that got no replies, and I sent this to support with replies, but nothing has been changed. The music in Marleybone, Aquila, and the Traveling Medicine Show is out of tune. Listening to the ringtone and in-game sound comparison, you can tell it's not the same. I want this to be fixed IMMEDIATELY. The out of tune music in these areas sounds terrible, honestly, as one with a good ear in the music area. It's because the music I think twice about farming for Rook's outfit or the Minotaur Axe. It's because of the music I loathe these areas. Please KI, fix this immediately as soon as you read this! It's really irritating having to listen to flat music in the game when it can be so much better. Please!
Do you mean dissonance, specifically a minor second like an A natural and an A flat being played simultaneously? If they're in-game, they're intentional. Nelson Everhart is no amateur, and (given he's the conductor) if he had heard one of his expert musicians playing out of tune or playing wrong notes, he would definitely stop the orchestra and have them start over. You could possibly contact Nelson Everhart if you want him to re-compose those themes.

I doubt that the ringtone would be any different except for length (I know they're trimmed), but if it's really bothering you enough, you could go download Audacity, the free sound recorder/editor that I'm using. Record the song in-game, record the part of the ringtone that doesn't contain the dissonance in that phrase, and copy-paste it over the phrase within the in-game recording. Play the full song on repeat (Shift+Space) whenever your pirate is in an area that contains that music. (This paragraph is kind of complicated and is actually somewhat sarcastic.)

Or, if that doesn't suit you, find a better composer than Nelson Everhart. I might recommend Ennio Morricone, he wrote some life-changing Western music when he was active. If you liked the Jurassic Park and Star Wars movies, you could try John Williams. Oh, dude! Hans Zimmer (lol I said Hans Gruber at first) is amazing. He wrote the Pirates of the Caribbean music and plenty more awesome themes. Or perhaps try some of that modern music that people seem to like.

Captain
Feb 11, 2010
644
AndrewDeathblade11... on Feb 26, 2016 wrote:
Do you mean dissonance, specifically a minor second like an A natural and an A flat being played simultaneously? If they're in-game, they're intentional. Nelson Everhart is no amateur, and (given he's the conductor) if he had heard one of his expert musicians playing out of tune or playing wrong notes, he would definitely stop the orchestra and have them start over. You could possibly contact Nelson Everhart if you want him to re-compose those themes.

I doubt that the ringtone would be any different except for length (I know they're trimmed), but if it's really bothering you enough, you could go download Audacity, the free sound recorder/editor that I'm using. Record the song in-game, record the part of the ringtone that doesn't contain the dissonance in that phrase, and copy-paste it over the phrase within the in-game recording. Play the full song on repeat (Shift+Space) whenever your pirate is in an area that contains that music. (This paragraph is kind of complicated and is actually somewhat sarcastic.)

Or, if that doesn't suit you, find a better composer than Nelson Everhart. I might recommend Ennio Morricone, he wrote some life-changing Western music when he was active. If you liked the Jurassic Park and Star Wars movies, you could try John Williams. Oh, dude! Hans Zimmer (lol I said Hans Gruber at first) is amazing. He wrote the Pirates of the Caribbean music and plenty more awesome themes. Or perhaps try some of that modern music that people seem to like.
There's a noticeable difference in the pitch between the music in-game and on the ringtones. It's flat in-game, and one person explained why it may be above, but if it was intentionally done, why?

Captain
Jul 16, 2014
583
Ahoy!

We passed along your concerns to the audio team.

Their response was "The tune has been exported at a slightly decreased pitch although it makes no aesthetic difference to the overall experience."

We appreciate the feedback, but the music will remain as it is in game. Thanks!

*Bonnie Anne, Your Pirate101 Community Manager*
Captain
Feb 11, 2010
644
Bonnie Anne on Feb 26, 2016 wrote:
Ahoy!

We passed along your concerns to the audio team.

Their response was "The tune has been exported at a slightly decreased pitch although it makes no aesthetic difference to the overall experience."

We appreciate the feedback, but the music will remain as it is in game. Thanks!
But why is it?

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Bonnie Anne on Feb 26, 2016 wrote:
Ahoy!

We passed along your concerns to the audio team.

Their response was "The tune has been exported at a slightly decreased pitch although it makes no aesthetic difference to the overall experience."

We appreciate the feedback, but the music will remain as it is in game. Thanks!
Well, nice to hear from the audio team, Bonnie Anne. I did suggest my idea of adding a side option to increase & decrease the pitch & tempo in the music themes, if we wish, to make the best of both worlds. It won't affect the experience greatly or something. Just thought that option would be nice to have.

I took comparison checks between the music sounded normal in the ringtones & the Puppet Shows, & some music themes in the game that had their pitch increased slightly, & my thought about that was that some of the music themes should be sounding like how they were from the ringtones. My only difference about that, the music heard from the ringtones & the Puppet Shows sounded more suitable to the experience.

Why, at times, I heard the music's pitch decrease through self-adjusting as I went back to the character select screen.

I'm not really disappointed, though. We were just concerned. We've just been very used to the music sounding normal for a very long time, & still are.

My thanks for replying once again.